For once First Lady Michelle Obama has done something the right wing agrees with. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) praised FLOTUS in a Facebook post: “Kudos to First Lady Michelle Obama for standing up for women worldwide and refusing to wear a Sharia-mandated head-scarf in Saudi Arabia. Nicely done.”

Of course, the comments on his page about Michelle Obama’s decision to forego the headscarf were just crazy. It’s not even worth repeating.

The White House issued a statement on FLOTUS not wearing a headscarf during trip: “Attire the First Lady wore to Saudi Arabia is the same as former First Ladies.” – @lesleyclark

The Saudis are ticked off at First Lady Michelle Obama for not covering her head at King Abdullah’s funeral. Um, whatever. I am pretty sure Michelle Obama doesn’t give a damn what they think. I don’t get it…A blogger was sentenced to 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam, but they are worried about FLOTUS covering her head? Really?

King Abdullah wasn’t exactly the peace-maker they are making him out to be. In fact, he was a misogynistic tyrant under whose watch Saudi women lived under the most oppressive conditions, such as bans on driving and voting.

Additionally, Saudi women can’t try on clothes while shopping and must have a male chaperon when they go out in public. They must also get their husband’s permission to open a bank account. So, yeah, I don’t blame Michelle Obama for having a disgusted look on her face for the four hours she was in Saudi Arabia.

Some people were upset because Michelle O didn’t cover her head and vented on Saudi Twitter using hashtags that translated to #Michelle_Obama_Immodest and #Michelle_Obama_Not_Veiled.

It will be interesting to see how the right wing will spin this. I am sure you’ll hear, Michelle Obama was rude and condescending. But wait, Laura Bush never covered her head when she visited Saudi Arabia in 2006 either. Of course, truth never stopped the right wing freak-out. By the way, Nancy Pelosi and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tagged along as part of a bipartisan delegation to Saudi Arabia and neither wore a head scarf.

“Once a hotbed of crime since its eponymous race riots of 1965 and a surge of gang violence in the 1990s, the Watts neighborhood of South Los Angeles has seen a 50 percent reduction in violent crime in recent years.”

“That’s thanks in large part to the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) — a program that Captain Phillip C. Tingirides, a 35-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, is spearheading. The CSP facilitates cooperation between the police department and Watts housing development residents scarred from decades of distrust — including encouraging dialogue at community meetings with police who personally engage with residents.”

“But this past Christmas, 13-year-old Malik Bryant from Chicago wrote Santa with a very different request.”

“All I ask for is for safety,” he wrote. “I just wanna be safe.”

Malik’s neighborhood of Englewood has one of the highest rates of violent crime in Chicago. In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Malik’s mother explained how he isn’t always able to leave his house and go hang out with his cousins, “because he has to cross gang lines and walk past all these gang members on some of those blocks. And all he ever hears on the news about our neighborhood is shootings, gangs and violence.”

“Prophet Walker was serving a six-year sentence for robbery when he made a choice to turn his life around. Walker — now 27 — began a program in his prison that provided fellow inmates with the opportunity to complete a two-year college degree.”

“After he was released, Prophet graduated with a degree from Loyola Marymount’s Engineering school, working as a construction engineer and still finding time to serve the southern California community.”

“Prophet is the co-founder of Watts United Weekend — a program that provides weekend camp retreats for hundreds of people weekly, strengthening trust between law enforcement, community members, parents, and kids from local housing projects.”

Let’s be clear, the furor isn’t simply over the Mrs. Obama visiting the school, but the fact that her appearance will significantly impact the number of seats available for the family and friends of the graduating students.

Some are also upset that the First Lady’s speech is tied to the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Brown v. Board of Education that banned segregation in schools. The students don’t want this to overshadow their big day.

Student Taylor Gifford, 18, started an online petition urging the district to reconsider its plans. The petition has received over 1,200 signatures. She said her initial reaction was excitement when she learned the First Lady would be appearing at Topeka High School but became concerned when rumors surfaced of limited tickets.

Not only are the right wing throwing shade on First Lady Michelle Obama for her China trip (#FLOTUSinChina), a former aide is also throwing shade on FLOTUS.

Reid Cherlin, a former assistant press secretary to Mrs. Obama, wrote in The New Republicthat working in the East Wing of the White House has become the “worst wing.” Oh my.

Cherlin wrote, “Perhaps no first lady in recent memory has entered the stately recesses of the East Wing under a higher burden of expectation than Michelle Obama.” He also noted that the strains on the first lady placed great burdens on her communications staff. He said he and his co-workers were unprepared for how hard the work would become and that FLOTUS’ office had evolved into a “confining, frustrating, even miserable place to work.”

Cherlin wrote that staffers were able to gauge their value to the office based on how often they were granted access to meet with her directly. He said, when a staffer was invited to attend a meeting with Michelle Obama, it became a “vital status symbol, a way for staffers to measure their worth.”

Um, so I am guessing Reid Cherlin wasn’t one of those staffers who got one-on-one meetings with Michelle Obama, hence the shade being thrown, right?

The fascination by some in the media with everything Michelle Obama does, including her 50th birthday party, is just sickening. ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney for an estimate of the party’s cost and if President Obama covered the costs.

The First Lady’s birthday party, which took placeSaturday night at the White House, was hotly anticipated by the mainstream press, but was also the subject of criticism from some quarters. Her birthday also raised questions from Fox News’Ed Henry a few weeks ago, when he wondered if taxpayers would be footing the bill for the First Lady’s extended vacation in Hawaii. At Wednesday’s daily briefing, Jon Karl picked up that thread, asking Carney “The first lady had her 50th birthday party, and I believe you said the president picks up the cost for that party?”

“I think we put out information — I don’t have it here — I would refer you to the East Wing,” Carney replied.

“I was just wondering if you have an estimate on what the cost was,” Karl followed up.

“I don’t,” Carney replied, “but I would refer you.”

A White House official tells Mediaite that “The President threw the First Lady a dance party last Saturday for her 50th birthday. It was a private gathering of family and friends and was paid for by the President.” Source: Mediaite

First Lady Michelle Obama confronted a heckler during a fundraiser in California and the right wing freak out has begun. Let me backtrack a little….

Mrs. Obama was interrupted by a heckler at a campaign fundraiser in Washington D. C. Tuesday. The woman was yelling that President Obama should sign an executive order on gay rights, Politico reports. Mrs. O wasn’t having any of this nonsense, saying, “One of the things I don’t do well is this” and she moved from the lectern towards the woman. She then reportedly said, you can “listen to me or you can take the mic, but I’m leaving. You all decide. You have one choice.” Of course, the audience came to hear the First Lady speak. The heckler was escorted out of the room and Mrs. Obama continued her speech.

Now the comments left on Politico are just plain idiotic. Some referenced Laura Bush, saying she would have more tact if she was heckled. Um, first of all, Laura Bush probably wouldn’t be caught at a fundraiser in the home of two lesbians. Look at the Republicans’ track record on gay rights and you’ll find any comment about Laura Bush being in a similar situation laughable at best. The usual chorus of right wing Haterade drinkers are out in force from Michelle Malkin’s Twitchy to the Daily Caller and Weasel Zippers. The comments are just incredulous.

The heckler was identified by Heather Cronk as Ellen Sturtz, an activist with her pro-LGBT group GetEQUAL. She said Sturtz was calling for an executive order to prohibit sex discrimination by federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The right wing freak-0ut is also over the White House reportedly scrubbing the exchange from its transcript.

I am sorry, but there’s a time and place for everything. Michelle Obama isn’t an elected official. She is the president’s wife. She is merely a figurehead. I am pretty sure if this woman had asked instead of resorting to rude interruption, Michelle Obama may have granted her a moment to listen after the speech. Ellen Sturtz isn’t a college student. She’s an older woman who should have used better judgment. She was rude and bombastic enough to think she was doing some good.

First Lady Michelle Obama delivered the commencement address at Eastern Kentucky University, urging the graduates to reach out to people with different political beliefs, saying it would the country would benefit from the conversations.

She also urged them to attend churches with different denominations than their own saying they might hear something in a sermon “that stays with you.” She also said they would learn something if they reached out “with an open mind and an open heart.” Great words of wisdom, but we know the right wingnuts will take her statements out of context to mean she’s trying to force them to go to church. Crazy, but in the eyes of people like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin, Mrs. Obama can do no right.

There’s nothing wrong with speaking to someone with a different political ideology. You would be surprised to learn that you may find some common ground.

It may have seemed odd to some people that Michelle Obama delivered a speech in a state that overwhelmingly voted against her husband in the presidential election. The White House reached out to Eastern Kentucky because of its outstanding support towards veterans and their efforts to educate them.

First Lady Michelle Obama to attend fundraiser with NBA’s first openly gay player Jason Collins. Wow, that was fast. Sorry, but this is just pure politics.

First lady Michelle Obama will attend a fundraiser later this month with Jason Collins, the NBA player who last week became the first openly gay athlete on a major men’s U.S. sports team.

The May 29 fundraiser will be held in New York City for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and will honor the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, a DNC official told The Hill on Monday. Source

I believe Mrs. Obama is being very sincere, but the timing for the fundraiser raises eyebrows. Watch the right wing go nuts over this…..

So proud of you, Jason Collins! This is a huge step forward for our country. We’ve got your back! -mo